Politics

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – Florida officials announced Monday the state’s unemployment rate had dropped to 6.1 percent in January, down 0.2 percent from December and nearly two percent from a year ago.

According to the state, the jobless rate was the lowest it’s been since June 2008 when the unemployment rate was 6.0 percent.

Looking at the county numbers, the not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Broward County rose from 5.0 percent in December to 5.3 percent in January. A total of 3,864 additional workers were on unemployment insurance from December to January.

The rise in Broward’s unemployment was partially due to an increase in the overall labor force of 4,970 workers.

In Miami-Dade County, the not-seasonally adjusted numbers showed unemployment in the county rose 0.1 percent from 6.8 percent in December to 6.9 percent in January.

An additional 1,292 workers went on unemployment insurance in the last month in Miami-Dade County. The overall workforce in Miami-Dade County also grew by 4,098 workers.

Monroe County continued to lead the state in lowest unemployment rate with a 3.8 percent jobless rate in January. The county reported just 1,877 workers on unemployment insurance in January, but that was an increase from December.

The numbers suggest that more workers are re-entering the workforce in South Florida, but with jobs still scarce the unemployment rate in South Florida is not retreating.